Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is beginning to run out of patience in his attempt to sign Tottenham striker Darren Bent and has been told to give up his pursuit of Lee Cattermole by Wigan chairman Dave Whelan.

With Peter Crouch expected to complete his move to Tottenham this week from Portsmouth, Bent could be heading to Wearside. But Bruce has indicated that he might walk away from the deal - unless the asking price is lowered.

He said: "I do not know if Tottenham's deal for Peter Crouch will help us. It is one we are visiting, but we cannot wait around forever. We are still short - a long way off in terms of our valuations at the moment. We will look at it again, but if we can't agree, we will move on.

"We are not making headway at the moment and there hasn't been any progress over the weekend."

Meanwhile, Bruce also looks set to fail in his attempts to reunite himself with Cattermole after Whelan said Sunderland are wasting their time in their pursuit of the midfielder.

Sunderland have had two bids rejected already, and despite reports of an improved £10 million bid being tabled, Whelan is adamant that the club has no intention of doing business.

"Sunderland are wasting their time - and I've told them that," said Whelan, who is keen to given new manager Roberto Martinez the best possible chance to succeed in his first season as a Premier League manager.

"I said, 'Don't even bother bidding for him again'. Lee will be at Wigan this season. When I heard about the first bid from Sunderland, I said straight away to (general manager) John Benson, 'He isn't going anywhere. He's staying here'.

"And Roberto agrees with me, so that's it. Finished. Lee wants to stay. He's happy here, he knows he's making progress here, and he wants to play under Roberto.

"It's out of the way as far as he's concerned."

26 thUTCp 2008

Fasha

Site Admin

Joined: 26 thUTCp 2008Posts: 19557Location: Seremban

Re: Bent to have Sunderland medical

Bent to have Sunderland medical

Tottenham striker Darren Bent is set for a medical with Sunderland on Wednesday as his club record transfer to the Black Cats moves a step closer.

The 25-year-old did not travel on Spurs' pre-season trip to China on Tuesday as, after a deal was clinched for Portsmouth's Peter Crouch, the former Charlton forward was allowed to remain at home to negotiate a move away from White Hart Lane.

Discussions progressed on Tuesday and Bent is likely to undergo the necessary medical examinations on Wednesday as things moved on significantly once the Crouch deal was done.

An increasingly frustrated Sunderland manager Steve Bruce had threatened to pull out of a move for the former England international but it is now back on after Tottenham counterpart Harry Redknapp found a replacement in Crouch - a player Bruce was also keen on signing.

Bent is likely to cost the Black Cats in the region of £12million, which would eclipse the £9million paid to Hearts for goalkeeper Craig Gordon two years ago, and could rise higher depending on the deal struck between the clubs.

Despite a frustrating two seasons at White Hart Lane, Bent scored 25 goals in 79 appearances, of which only 43 were starts.

Bruce is keen to add some proven quality to his forward line having already signed 21-year-old Fraizer Campbell from Manchester United to support Kenwyne Jones.

The impending arrival of another striker is not a concern for Jones, who has been linked with a number of clubs - including Spurs - in recent months.

"If I wasn't committed to Sunderland I don't think I would have just been away on pre-season for 10 or 11 days," the Trinidad & Tobago striker said.

"I signed a four-year contract in January and I'm committed to staying for that length of time, maybe more - you never know.

"I do get sick and tired of constantly hearing about this team and that team and me."

09.42: 'DARREN Bent's move to Sunderland could be on the verge of collapse,' says the Journal up in the north-east. They claim that Bent is yet to arrive in the north-east for a medical and has been in contact with both Hull and Villa to find out what money is on offer.

'The Journal understands that the Black Cats are far from happy with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy's handling of the transfer and feel he is trying to extract more money from them,' it says here.

Sunderland apparently thought they had agreed a deal for Bent, but Spurs could be trying to start a bidding war with interest emerging from other clubs.

09.42: 'DARREN Bent's move to Sunderland could be on the verge of collapse,' says the Journal up in the north-east. They claim that Bent is yet to arrive in the north-east for a medical and has been in contact with both Hull and Villa to find out what money is on offer.

'The Journal understands that the Black Cats are far from happy with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy's handling of the transfer and feel he is trying to extract more money from them,' it says here.

Sunderland apparently thought they had agreed a deal for Bent, but Spurs could be trying to start a bidding war with interest emerging from other clubs.

Darren Bent is close to joining Sunderland after arriving in the north-east for a medical.

The striker, who joined Tottenham for Â£16.5million two years ago, arrived at Sunderland on Monday morning for a medical, Press Association Sport understands.

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has been trying to sign the 25-year-old, who has four England caps, for some time but the clubs have been unable to agree a fee.

The impasse now looks to have been broken - reportedly for a Â£12million fee - allowing Bent to finally move and become Sunderland's record signing.

Bent would join England Under-21 striker Fraizer Campbell, who has moved from Manchester United, Albanian midfielder Lorik Cana from Marseille, and Paraguay defender Paulo da Silva as new signings at the Stadium of Light.

The fee would eclipse the £9million spent by Sunderland on Scotland keeper Craig Gordon who they bought from Hearts.

Bent has been pushing hard for a move from Tottenham to the Black Cats and caused controversy last week by posting an entry on his Twitter account to criticise Spurs chairman Daniel Levy for holding up the move.

He later apologised saying: "I appreciate that transfers are seldom straightforward.

"I regret my actions and did not intend to offend Daniel Levy or anyone with the nature or the content of my posting."

26 thUTCp 2008

Fasha

Site Admin

Joined: 26 thUTCp 2008Posts: 19557Location: Seremban---------

Re: Bent passes medical

Bent passes medicalTue 04 Aug, 05:48 PM

Darren Bent's move to Sunderland is expected to go through on Wednesday after the striker passed a medical.

The 25-year-old is set to become Sunderland's record signing, for a reported £12million, but a delay over the paperwork thwarted hopes he would be able to play in a friendly against Peterborough on Tuesday night.

A source close to the deal told Press Association Sport that the transfer was being processed and is expected to go through Wednesday.

Sunderland assistant manager Eric Black said: "His record in the Premier League is outstanding - I think he's scored about 50 goals in 100-odd appearances, a phenomenal return. There's a plethora of different things we think he'll bring."

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